Out on the town
by NCR Ranger
Summary: There is always something worth fighting for, and a night out on the Silversun strip, not having to worry about the Reapers ever again, certainly qualifies. Their invasion is a thing of the distant past.


2205

Silversun Strip

12:45am, station clock

* * *

"_\- the 18th Anniversary of the defeat of the Reapers. The Turian Hierarchy has confirmed that Primiarch Garrus Vakarian will be presiding over the ceremonies_. "

"-_worth 800 billion credits, it is the highest valued long term trade deal arranged in the Systems Alliance' history "_

Nothing could beat the regularity of CSN ( Citadel Space News ). No matter _where_ you were on the Citadel ( with the possible exception of the Keeper tunnels ), there was at least one CSN kiosk helpfully broadcasting the latest happenings and events that were ongoing throughout this sector of space, and especially on the station itself. It wasn't quite to the point of littering the station with themselves, but the kiosks were definitely plentiful enough to where nobody had far to go to reach one.

Contrary to MSM ( Main stream media )'s overall badly checkered history, CSN was actually fairly reputable. None of that accessibility would mean a thing if CSN spouted gossip-level information, but thankfully, ( most of ) the reports were apolitical , and delivered in a straight laced, down to Earth fashion- as a news _report_ should be. The Asari sounding voice delivering them spoke with a fluidly calm, even tone that was often found among the beautiful blue aliens, and it certainly helped to keep the reports more engaging to listen to.

Ken Donnely could only wonder what it would sound like if they'd chosen an _Elcor_ to speak instead.

Not that he had an issue with the lumbering, quadpedal aliens, but they weren't exactly the most _expressive_ of the galaxy's species. They were even more out of place in a section of the Citadel like _here_, on the Strip, which had been described by virtually everyone who visited it as " Downtown Dubai in space ". That certainly fit, because the Strip, with its constantly glowing establishment front signs of deep eggplant purple and bronze, apartment lights forming banks of illumination soaring stories and stories over the narrow winding walkways, and the flowing, weaving masses of every species of alien Kenneth had ever encountered- Turians, Batarian, Asari ( beautiful as always ), was the epitome of a loud and vibrant locale.

Hearing an Elcor droning out loud some kind of exposition would somewhat clash with the energetic vibe ( one that anyone secluded in the mountains would certainly miss ). There was hardly a quiet place to be found anywhere here, with the endless _' HmmMmmmMmmm '_ of thousands of voices speaking at once, or the bouncy, techno tunes of advertisements blaring from every speaker that could be mounted anywhere.

The corner of the Scotsman's mouth turned up in a bemused smirk at the thought of it. He soon found he couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the random, hilarious thought.

" What's so funny, Ken ? ", asked the woman who was walking beside him.

" Oh, nothin' Gabby. Only thinking about an_ Elcor_ doing the news ", Kenneth canted his head toward a nearby kiosk they'd gone by a few seconds ago.

He laughed again. " A bloody _Elcor_ ! I don't know where _that_ came from."

Gabby's left elbow mildly jabbed him in the side, but when she addressed him a moment later, there was no irritation in her tone: " That's racist, Ken ! Maybe you're old Cerberus thinking is creeping back. "

" Oi. I may be old-"

Kenneth absent mindedly reached up to brush at the goatee that had been on his chin for the past few years. He was utterly certain he'd seen a grey bundle of hair in it, despite Gabby's constant insistence otherwise. It wasn't Admiral Hackett levels of grey, but it was getting there.

\- but I am most certainly not one of _those_ scunners. We _both_ left 'em behind, and that was _before_ the Commander blew them to _richly deserved_ smithereens."

He wasn't angry, but the momentary mention of that reprehensible cult-like organization, and their litany of egregious actions ( such as what had happened on Horizon, or the facility on Pragia ), had him still resenting that he'd given them even a year of his existence.

They shouldn't have gotten even a minute of it, let alone _several years._

Thankfully, Gabby understood this. She understood how Kenneth thought ( which was an adventure on its own ), and she could easily tell what was going on in his head. It was one of the strongest reasons they'd stayed together for as long as they had.

The short brunette gently nudged him now. " Of course. As the one with all the intelligence, I saw we had to abandon them. And you couldn't help but run after me. "

" Ha ! ", Kenneth deftly swerved around a hurrying Volus as the bulbous alien lumbered past them headed the opposite way. " You can say that, but I'd follow you anyway. "

" Only when I am not following _you_, making sure you don't sink yourself neck deep into some form of serious trouble or other. ", the propulsion engineer playfully jabbed. " You get into more of it than Jennifer Nought-aka Jack-, and _that's_ saying something. "

There wasn't much point in denying that, so Kenneth didn't even bother. He simply shrugged, and without missing a beat, slung his arm around Gabby's shoulders, as they walked further and further into the depths of the neon-soaked depths of the Strip.

" Why _else_ do you think I keep you around, Gabby ? "

" Hmm, I don't know; maybe the way you pronounce the word ' around ' ? With that accent of yours- "

She inhaled, and then breathed out. Her short wood-colored hair rippled slightly with the movement.

"- _love_ the way you roll around the R. "

The Scot chuckled heartily at that. They'd reached the front entrance of the Silver Coast's Castle Arcade, and the heavy base of the interior's soundtrack was spilling out into the outside, necessitating Kenneth to speak louder as he responded, with a smirk:

" Can't get enough of _rich, wholesome , Scottish _way of speakin', eh ? "

" You might argue that, yeah ! ", Gabby called back. " And, there's something else ! "

" Oh, is there ?! What might it be ? "

Putting her hand up on Kenneth's shoulder, Gabby gently turned him around to face her.

" Isn't it obvious ?_ I love_ you, you idjit ! "

Getting insulted ( and with a word most don't consider to be the proper spelling of " idiot " ) would annoy most, but not Kenneth. He knew his Gabby was having fun.

And that she was serious about what she'd said. That was _always_ clear.

He pulled her against him even closer. " In that case, have fun getting rid of me. "

" Because I love you too, Gabriella. "


End file.
